ARCATA – After grabbing an early lead, Humboldt State looked like it would pull away from Hope International in its home opener, but the Lumberjacks could not shake the Royals to leave the game closer than they had hoped. The Jacks kept their winning streak alive, however, beating the Royals 69-57 Friday night.

With the victory, Humboldt State stands 3-0 overall as it heads into California Collegiate Athletic Association action in a little over a week. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics member Hope International drops to 2-3 overall. 

Four Jacks achieved double figures, led by Whitney Howard's double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Bree Halsey went a perfect 8-for-8 in shooting, racking up 16 points for HSU. Their efforts helped balance the Jacks' overall shooting as the team posted a 40 percent from the field. Despite rough shooting efforts, Kayla Williams and Lisa Petty still hit double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

"Bree had one of her best games tonight," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "Obviously when you go 8-for-8 that's a good game, but more importantly, she was poised and aggressive and deliberate. She didn't over think everything."

The Jacks went on a nine-point run in the first three minutes, jumping ahead 10-1. Hope International kept HSU's lead under double figures until Humboldt State scored 10 straight points, taking a 26-8 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

HIU closed within 10 when Samera Dorton—who led the Royals with 18 points—scored a layup with 6:30 to go in the period. Humboldt State held a comfortable 15-point lead at the break at 37-22.

"I felt like we handled their pressure in the first 10 minutes of the game and attacked right back when they attacked us," said Gleason. "The final 30 minutes were pretty sloppy and we need to clean that up. We need to do a better job of recognizing when it's a good opportunity to attack offensively and when it's not."

Although the lead remained in double digits, the Jacks could not shake the Royals and never led more than 16 points. Hurting Humboldt State's efforts were the 24 turnovers and the Jacks were unable to capitalize on Hope International's 20 turnovers.

"This is a pressing team up and down the court, that's what they want," said Gleason in response to her team's 24 turnovers. "I thought we played right into them at times. At times, though, we looked really good, so we'll get better and learn from it."

Halsey and Caitie Richards both followed Howard's rebounding efforts for Humboldt State, posting nine each. Dorton also led the Royals in rebounding with nine, while Crystal Vasquez and Brittani Philbrook also registered double figures on the night for Hope International.

The injury-plagued Jacks have time to recover and rest before conference play begins Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m. against Sonoma State.